Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Buys 2,129 Shares of American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,973 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,129 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $4,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEP. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Electric Power by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,690,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,767,425,000 after acquiring an additional 763,813 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in American Electric Power by 4.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,902,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,760,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,954 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in American Electric Power by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 15,060,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,389,032,000 after purchasing an additional 543,054 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in American Electric Power by 2.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,524,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,280,655,000 after purchasing an additional 352,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in American Electric Power by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,644,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,009,000 after buying an additional 100,578 shares during the period. 75.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AEP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $102.00 price objective (down previously from $109.00) on shares of American Electric Power in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim raised shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America raised their target price on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on American Electric Power from $108.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on American Electric Power from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Electric Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.77.

American Electric Power Stock Up 1.7 %

American Electric Power stock opened at $106.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $109.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.10.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. American Electric Power’s payout ratio is currently 66.43%.

About American Electric Power

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.